NBC’s ‘Today’ Rides Olympics Back to Mornings’ Top Spot

NBC is reaping rewards throughout the day from its coverage of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. The Hollywood Reporter’s Live Feed reports that one of those rewards has been the return of NBC’s "Today" show to the top spot in the morning ratings wars.

"’Today,’ which has largely lingered in second place in the morning show ratings war for the better part of the last two years, is already seeing big wins thanks to live coverage from Sochi," THR reports. "Monday brought ‘Today’s’ biggest single-day victories over typically dominant ‘Good Morning America’ since the 2012 Summer Games in London. With an average 2.678 million adults 25-54, it even bucked Sochi’s slightly sagging ratings trend with a 3 percent improvement from the comparable Monday during the Vancouver Olympics."

"Today" beat ABC’s "GMA" in the target news demo by 362,000 viewers, the report notes. That was an even bigger margin than in total viewers, where "Today" beat "GMA" by 349,000, averaging 6.293 million viewers — the best delivery for "Today" since August 2012.

"NBC’s last go at the Olympics, in 2012, came at a time when the tide was decisively turning in ‘GMA’s’ favor," the report notes. "Ann Curry had only lost her co-host gig two months prior, and ‘Today’ was still occasionally winning in the demo. The show topped ‘GMA’ throughout the two-week run in London, but as soon as Matt Lauer and co. returned to Rockefeller Plaza, ‘Today’ also ceded its edge to ‘GMA.’ ABC has been on top, with few exceptions, ever since."